Cops launch hunt for crane poachers in Junagadh

The Kodinar police are on the lookout for a gang of poachers who allegedly killed 11 cranes at Velan village on the outskirts of Kodinar in Junagadh district on Saturday.

Police said locals informed them that four men were trapping cranes with the help of kites. And as a police team reached the spot, the four fled after abandoning the killed migratory birds and two motorbikes.

"The four are yet to be identified. But we will trace them soon with the help of the bikes," said a police officer, adding that the motorbikes are new and yet to get the registration numbers.

Police said that birds were trapped in synthetic kites and later butchered. "Kites, threads and knives have been seized from the spot along with the carcasses," said the police. The local forest department has been informed about the incident.